‘A dangerous initiative with major health consequences’. The highly controversial sporting event Enhanced Games starts on Sunday evening in Las Vegas. Doping is permitted to enhance sporting performance (yes, really), in the hope of breaking world records. Experts and critics are disgusted by it.
Sports editor
The use of doping has been a no-go in the sports world for years. Critics point out major dangers to the health of athletes, international sports associations want to keep the sport as fair and pure as possible.
But at the Enhanced Games they think very differently about this.
Alternative to Play
The controversial event is based on banned substances. Australian billionaire Aron D’Souza came up with it in 2023 as an alternative to the Olympic Games, with the idea that sports fans need extreme performance and records.
Moreover, he argues that doping is good if it improves the sport and that open use ensures a level playing field. He has participating athletes (swimming, athletics and weightlifting) take a shot at world records in his new event.
It is a dangerous initiative, because there is no safe doping
The prize pool in Vegas amounts to a total of 25 million euros. Each illegal world record is rewarded with almost a million.
Australian swimmer James Magnussen is one of the leading figures of the Enhanced Games. Thanks to doping, he underwent a huge physical metamorphosis: his muscle mass increased enormously. “The basis was testosterone, kind of the meat and potatoes of any doping program. It worked well, maybe even a little too well,” he said.
However, it is completely against the rules of the traditional sports world: doping has been blacklisted there for years and use is subject to heavy sanctions. The cycling world suffered for years, with Lance Armstrong as one of the most famous doping offenders. It ultimately cost him his seven Tour de France overall victories.
Critics have been pointing out the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs for years. “It is a dangerous initiative, because there is no safe doping,” Doping Authority chairman Vincent Egbers told ANP.
“It can lead to athletes being willing to take risks with their bodies because it makes a lot of money. We disapprove of that, because doping has been proven to be bad for the body.”
Other experts fear long-term health problems for participants.
Opposition from our own doctors
Medics associated with the Enhanced Games point out that everything happens according to strict rules and that the safety of athletes comes first. However, the traditional sports federations cannot agree with this: the world swimming federation has already threatened severe penalties. Athletes who participate will be excluded from future tournaments.
For Ben Proud, who will win Olympic silver in the 50 meter freestyle in 2024, this is no reason to skip the tournament in Las Vegas. He is going to take a shot at a world record and the associated amount of money. “We are disappointed that he is participating in this doping tournament,” the British swimming association Aquatics GB responded.
His participation raised eyebrows in Great Britain: why would a successful athlete jeopardize his reputation shortly after Olympic success? “I am now in my 30s and my career is almost over. The reality is that many Olympic athletes simply cannot earn enough to retire comfortably.”
“I have devoted my heart and soul to this profession, this skill, for fifteen years.” Now an opportunity has presented itself that will allow me to secure my future – and especially that of my mother. This is too good an opportunity to pass up. It takes me thirteen years to earn this money from normal tournaments.”
Proud is one of the 42 athletes participating in Las Vegas, mainly in their thirties for whom the end of their career is in sight (not Dutch). In the Dutch night from Sunday to Monday, they embark on a controversial hunt for a world record. A world record that immediately makes them a pariah in the sports world.